A HERO who rescued his elderly neighbour from her blazing flat has been hailed for saving the day.

Liam Edwards, of Pound Lane in Dorchester, said he did not think twice before braving smoke and flames to rescue his neighbour, believed to be an 87-year-old woman called Jo, after a fire broke out in the living room of her ground-floor flat.

Another neighbour, Sharon Coker, praised Mr Edward’s bravery, calling him a hero.

She said: “I dread to think what would have happened if Liam hadn’t come along.

“He was so brave to go and put the fire out. He’s a hero and he definitely saved the day.”

The accidental fire broke out in the woman’s flat in Stone House Court, Fordington, yesterday morning.

The elderly resident opened her door to Miss Coker but was understood to be disorientated and did not come out.

Finance worker Mr Edwards, 29, battled through the smoke and led her to safety before tackling the blaze with an extinguisher and checking other flats.

The resident was treated by firefighters initially and then paramedics for the effects of breathing in smoke before being taken to Dorset County Hospital.

Mr Edwards said: “When I went into Jo’s flat there was thick black smoke everywhere, the flames were as high as the ceiling.

“I couldn’t see a thing, it was burning my eyes and I could hardly breathe with all the chemicals and fumes in the air.

“Then I went upstairs to the other flats see if there was anyone else up there.

“I got really worried at this point because I thought – how am I going to get anyone out of here?”

Miss Coker, who lives in a neighbouring ground floor flat, said she heard the smoke detectors going off just before 10.30am and dialled 999 when she smelt smoke.

She said: “At first I thought I would just have to reset the alarms but then I smelt smoke coming from Jo’s flat.

“I went and knocked on her door and when she opened it there was so much smoke in there, you wouldn’t believe it.

“It was so lucky Liam was here, he just grabbed a fire extinguisher and put it out, I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t been there.”

Both Mr Edwards and Miss Coker praised the fire crew, who they described as being on the scene ‘almost immediately’.

Mr Edwards said: “The firemen were amazing, they got here so quickly, almost instantly.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for the fire service but even more so now after seeing first-hand how efficient they were. I know it’s their jobs but they really were brilliant and deserve a lot of thanks.”

He added that although everyone described him as a hero he was just ‘doing what he could to help’.

He said: “Everyone kept saying I was the hero but to me it was a split-second decision, I couldn’t have just stood by without doing what I could to help. The firemen said if Jo had been in there any longer she could have died, so it’s really lucky I happened to come along when I did.”

He added: “Jo seemed really shaken and quite confused.

“I just hope she’s okay, the hospital is keeping her in overnight for observation so she’s in good hands.”